Display and merchandise support



Q31, Egg I E. M. LEVY DISPLAY AND MERCHANDISE SUPPORT Fi1ed Aug. 14, 1952 INVENTOR.

United rates atent DISPLAY AND MERCHANDISE SUPPORT Edward M. Levy, Evanston, BL, assignor to Reflector Hardware Corporation, Chicago, BL, a corporation of Illinois Application August 14, 1952, Serial No. 304,274

1 Claim. (Cl. 248-223) The present invention pertains to the art of displaying merchandise and more particularly to a display and merchandise support of a kind adapted for supporting merchandise and the like in a great variety of salective dis.- play positions upon the face of an upright perforated panel of wallboard or the like.

In certain branches of the merchandising field, and particularly in those fields which deal with a variety of items of relatively small sizes, it has been found that very attractive displays of merchandise may be made by supporting the goods in pleasing arrangements on vertical panels in show windows and in sales rooms and the like. In view of the fact, however, that different items and diiferent combinations of items require difierent arrangements on the panels in order that the displays will be artistically balanced and otherwise attractive, it has heretofore been the usual practice to build a special panel for each display and either discard that panel or structurally rebuild it whenever the display is to be replaced or modified. This older practice has been relatively expensive because of the time and materials required in the building and rebuilding of panels, and it has had a further disadvantage in that mass-production of the panels has not been feasible since the displaying of different items requires different arrangements on the panels and each person using such panels has had his own ideas as to how his particular goods could most attractively be arranged thereon.

The present invention solves these problems by providing an improved means by which merchandise, information cards and other items may be supported and displayed upon upright panels of inexpensive wallboard or other material having a plurality of horizontal and vertical rows of evenly spaced perforations therethrough. The perforated panels are themselves more attractive than plain panels, but the principal advantage flowing from the present invention is that by means of the present display and merchandising support, goods may be quickly and selectively arranged or rearranged on these perforated panels in substantially any position or combination of positions desired. As a result, the perforated panels may be mass-produced in standard sizes and shapes and may be used over and over again for different displays, the present support being quickly attached or detached and moved to different locations on the panel whenever the person using the panel wishes to vary his display of merchandise.

One of the principal objects of the present invention, therefore, is to provide an improved means by which items of merchandise and the like may be supported in selective display positions on an upright perforated panel. Another important object of the present invention is to provide a lightweight support of the kind just stated which may be very inexpensively manufactured but yet be strong and capable of supporting merchandise of relatively heavy weight without distorting or damaging the panel or the areas thereof adjacent to which the support is attached, this being particularly important 2,756,958 Patented Oct. 16, 1956 when the perforated panel is constructed of wallboard or other relatively soft material. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a support member, for display and merchandising support devices having the above qualities, which may be fabricated from a single sheet of metal or the like but yet have thereon a plurality of surfaces adapted to bear upon different parts of the panel and thus distribute over a considerable area the load of the merchandise supported by the support devices.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, taken with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one form of the present display and merchandise support, the support being shown attached to a fragment of an upright perforated panel;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the support on a slightly enlarged scale, with a small portion of the panel being illustrated in the View;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken along the line 33 in Fig. l to show certain details of the support and the manner of its attachment to the panel;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken along the line 44 in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of one of many possible variations of the support;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the form of the support shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a front elevational view of still another modification of the support; and

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the support of Fig. 7, a portion of the panel upon which the support is mounted being shown in cross-section.

As illustrated in the drawing, the basic element of the support in all of its forms is a unitary support member, shown generally at 1%, comprising a planar base plate 11 having a fiat rear surface 12 of substantial area adapted to lie vertically against and bear upon the front face 13 of an upright or vertically disposed panel 14 having a plurality of uniformly spaced circular perforations 15 therein arranged in, vertical and horizontal rows. The support member 10 is preferably stamped and formed from a single sheet of metal or the like, with a plurality of identical hook portions formed integrally upon and extending from the upper edge 16 of the base plate portion 11. These hook portions are spaced apart a distance equal to the space bet-ween the perforations 15 and each comprises a longitudinally straight first leg element 17 having one end integral with the upper edge of the base plate 11 and extending rearwardly therefrom at right angles to the plane of the base plate, each leg 1'7 being adapted to extend completely through one of the perforations 15. The outer extremity of each leg 17 is ent upwardly to provide another leg element 18 that is substantially parallel to the plane of the base plate 11 and is adapted to bear upon the back surface 13a of the panel 14 when weight is applied to the front of the base plate, as will hereinafter be explained.

In order to increase the longitudinal rigidity of the rearwardly extending leg elements 17 and to provide a transversely curved lower surface 19 thereon having a radius conforming to that of the inner walls of the perforations 15, the upper surfaces of the legs 17 are transversely dished, as at 20, throughout their entire lengths to provide them with a c0nvexoconcave cross-section. As a result of this dished condition of the upper surfaces and the resulting corresponding curvature of the lower surfaces 19 of the legs 17, these legs may bear downwardly forcefully upon the inner walls of the perforations 15 without distorting those Walls even though the panel r 3 14 may be fabricated from relatively soft material such as ordinary wallboard, or the like. If desired, the upstanding legs 18, as shown in the drawing, may also be given the same transverse curvature as that given to the legs 17 since this imparts to legs 18 increased longitudinal rigidity.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, a hook 21 is struck from the body of the base plate 11 and extends forwardly therefrom where it is adapted to receive and support merchandise to be displayed on the panel 14. Many other means, however, may be employed on the front of the base plate 11 for supporting goods and other items. The form of the invention illustrated in Figs. and 6 is particularly adapted for supporting an end of a shelf or the like upon which goods may be displayed, another support assembly of like construction being employed to support the other end of the shelf. In this construction, an outwardly extending rod 22 is welded or otherwise secured at its inner end to the front of the base plate 11 for supporting the shelf, and a clip 23 is similarly attached to the base plate above the rod for receiving and retaining an edge portion of the shelf. If it is not desired to use a shelf in a particular display, the clip 23 may be omitted and a rod or fixture 22 may be substituted therefor, the fixture 22 having a longitudinal axis extending in the vertical or horizontal direction and having a shape best suited to the display of the particular goods.

In Figs. 7 and 8 still another embodiment of the invention is illustrated that'is suitable for displaying items like rakes and other hand tools and the like. In this latter construction a U-shaped bracket 24 is welded to the base plate 11, as at 25, and two parallel arms 26 of appropriate configuration for receiving goods of a particular shape extend diagonally outwardly and downwardly from the bracket 24 to which they are suitably secured at their upper ends.

It will thus be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present display and merchandise support may be constructed with numerous variations depending upon the particular character of the items to be displayed on the panel 14. It will be noted, however, that in each of the modifications the force of the weight of the merchandise to be supported by the device of the present invention is transmitted to the panel 14 at a plurality. of surfaces having, overall, a very considerable area. In all forms of applicants invention a large portion of this force is transmitted to the front face 13 of the panel 14 by the flat base plate 11 which bears upon that face.

7 Figs. 7 and 8 a brace 27 is pivotally mounted at one end to each of the arms 26, as by a rivet 28 or the like, and the opposite ends of the braces are turned inwardly to provide feet 29 thereon that are provided with short stub-pins 30 that are received by a pair of adjacent perforations in the panel 14. In this modification, which is particularly adapted for supporting relatively heavy objects in display upon the panel 14, a substantial portion of the force of the weight of the objects is transmitted to the panel by the feet 29 of the braces 27 which bear against the front face of the panel. The remainder of A, the force is transmitted to the panel by the base plate 11 and the legs 17 and 18.

It will thus be appreciated that applicants invention, in each of its forms, is so constructed that the force of the weight of merchandise supported thereby is transmitted to the panel 14 at several places and over a substantial area of the panel, thereby making it possible for the support of the present invention to bear loads of considerable magnitude without distorting or otherwise damaging relatively soft panels 14.

The support in all its forms and variations may very quickly be removed from the panel 14 merely by pivoting the support upwardly until the normally upstanding legs 18 of the hook portions are substantially parallel to the axes of the perforations, whereupon the support may be with-drawn from the panel. The support may then be relocated at any other desired position on the panel by first inserting the legs 18 into a pair of perforations at the desired location and then pivoting the support downwardly to bring the base plate 11 into contact with face of the panel. In this latter position the support is firmly and securely hooked onto the panel and is ready to receive the goods to be displayed.

The foregoing description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be implied therefrom, for it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the form and construction of the present display and merchandise support without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A display and merchandising support adapted to be attached to an upright perforated panel, comprising, .a planar base plate of sheet metal adapted to bear flatly against the face of said panel, a supporting rod extending outwardly from said base plate, a clip on the front of said 7 base plate above said rod for grasping an item supported by said rod, 2. pair of longitudinally straight leg elements integral with an upper edge of said base plate and extending rearwardly therefrom in side-by-side position, said leg elements being adapted to extend through a pair of horizontally spaced apart perforations in said panel and being transversely curved to convexo-concave crosssection to increase their longitudinal rigidity and to provide each with a bottom surface corresponding in curvature to the shape of said perforations whereby said leg elements may bear forcefully downwardly upon the walls 'of said perforations without deforming said walls, and a second leg element extending upwardly from the extrem- V ity of each of said first leg elements, said second leg elements being substantially parallel to the plane of said base,

plate and being adapted to bear upon the rear side of said panel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

